Jeffrey Martinson's defense counsel will have to dig deeper for
evidence after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sally Duncan
rejected its request to use the medical records of his deceased son
and the son's mother in the defendant's murder trial.

Martinson, 43, of Ahwatukee Foothills is charged with the
first-degree murder of his 5-year-old son, Joshua Eberle-Martinson,
and faces the death penalty if found guilty.

During an oral argument proceeding Sept. 24, Duncan denied the
defendant's motion for the records on the grounds that such a
request violates a statute in the Arizona Constitution, but she
ordered the Martinson defense team to interview doctors in case
evidence arises for Duncan to reconsider its request.

The defense's motion, filed in 2007, claims it seeks the records
because Eberle may have taken the acne treatment medication
Accutane - having caused a high percentage of birth defects among
its pregnant users' children - within the first 10 days of her
pregnancy with Joshua. The defense reasons that understanding the
natal health of Eberle and her son for its defendant's trial
outweighs their rights to privacy, as the cause of death will be a
factor in Martinson's fate. However, these allegations conflict
with the details of Joshua's death.

In the months leading up to Joshua's death between Aug. 28 and 29,
2004, Martinson and Joshua's mother, Kristin Eberle, had become
embroiled in a custody battle over their son, and Eberle expressed
her desire for Martinson's visitations with Joshua to be
supervised, according to Phoenix police. Child Protective Services
was notified after Martinson failed to deliver Joshua to Eberle
after a weekend visitation.

Upon arriving at Martinson's Ahwatukee Foothills apartment, police
found Joshua dead in a top bunk in a bedroom, and Martinson lying
unconscious in the master bedroom with minor cuts on his wrist.
Empty prescription canisters, plastic bags with tape and an empty
bottle of liquor purchased that day were strewn about the
household. Blood analysis revealed Joshua had been moved since the
time of his death.

When asked if he could have accidentally killed his son, Martinson
said, "I may have, I don't remember," according to the police
report. He had no explanation for the death of his son, and stated
along with Eberle that Joshua had no prior medical problems.

Martinson's neighbor, who was interviewed by police, said that she
saw Martinson the day before appearing upset and depressed. She
received a text message from him later that evening that said, "We
loved you and will miss you."

The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be an
overdose of muscle relaxants with the possibility of asphyxiation
as a contributing factor.

The State of Arizona v. Jeffrey Martinson capital case has been in
the legal system for six years, and four defense teams have filed
numerous motions and extensions.

Martinson's current attorney, Michael Terribile, said that the
state of Arizona is to blame for overwhelming public defense
lawyers with cases, leaving those charged with capital offenses to
preoccupied attorneys or no attorneys at all. The change in policy
to increase the number of death penalties sought by Maricopa
County, administered by then-Maricopa County Attorney General
Andrew Thomas, left about 12 murder defendants without
representation, according to published reports.

Maricopa County Attorney Frankie Grimsman has been the prosecuting
attorney in the case since Martinson was charged with murder in
2004.

"I'm frustrated; (Kristen Eberle) is very frustrated. It's
ridiculous that this case has not reached trial. The child would
have been 11 years old," Grimsman said, adding that her prosecution
has been in limbo between moving to trial against the demands of
Martinson's attorneys - which would increase his chance to appeal
upon a guilty verdict - and continuing to wait for them to conclude
preparations, when it has long grown impatient with their
delays.

The most recent trial date has been set for April 2011.

Ben Backhaus is a sophomore at Arizona State University's
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass
Communication.